The best way to save the string is ultrasonic with or without cleaning solution. It’s less damaging than boiling. Your girlfriend surely can use a jewelry cleaner. Get one and it’s multi use. You can clean your bridge, tuners. Just have to find the right lube before you put them back.
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BOILING, not cooking! There’s a difference 
You can give it a try, if you like. Plenty of info about it to be found. Just don’t use a pot you ever want to cook actual food in again.
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I used to do this back when I was dead broke… after the boil, I would tamp the strings down to get them as dry as possible, then transfer them to methyl alcohol (gas line antifreeze) for approx 24 hrs. (Isopropyl works as well)
Getting the gunk out of the strings does brighten them up, and restore a bit of that new string tone… but its obviously nothing like a fresh set. Also, this can only be done so many times… after a bit, you really are doing nothing to get tone back.
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I’m gonna retry the ultrasonic solution. I had a cheap ultrasonic cleaner once, but that really s#cked!
Found a good one now, and I can reuse the ultrasonic cleaner for other stuff and reviews for those devices are great!
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I tried boiling.
I never did anything but dry them after.
It brought life back in, but they broke very soon after every time.
Not all the strings… but - with lots of slap and pop playing - the D and G would break pretty quick after the boil.
I tried it 2-3 times and gave it up.
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Yeah heat and wound metal are not good together
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When in doubt: Blame Canada … LOL
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OK I won’t but the bad news is there really isn’t. You may make them cleaner but you won’t restore all of the other properties the string had when new. Like most things strings get worn out from playing and need to be replaced. Anything you try will be temporary at best.
If you want to avoid replacing strings so often play flats or something like Pressurewounds which will still need to be replaced periodically but they will hold their tone and feel longer than any round round I’ve ever tried.
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Yeah. If you’re really more concerned with the longevity of strings than you are with the feel and tone, just buy flats and you’re done; they last forever, at the cost of less bright tone and a feel that not everyone likes.
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It seems that everything’s gone wrong,
Since Canada came along!
Blame Canada!
Blame Canada!
They’re not even a real country anyway.
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I understand.
It just feels wrong to me to throw away stuff all the time. I was pretty serious about my philosophy of “repairing, recycling, repurposing”.
The older I get the more I do not want to partake in this fast lived throw-away society 
I will try the ultrasonic cleaning method first. If that does not work out, I need to find me some good long lasting strings.
I do love my LaBella flats, but I would like to remain with thin roundwounds on my fretless and .105 roundwounds on my punky funky dirty bass.
But what SHORTSCALE roundwound strings should I get? Good sounding, long lasting, not so very expensive…
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Over here they talk about cleaning strings to refresh them. And give instructions on building a cleaning tube…
Note - I have never tried this.
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D’Addario NYXL’s last about twice as long as the EXL’s. But that’s still ~6-8 months max, no more.
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Hahaha! Says the guy from Belgium - just saying.
(May I remind you of 1830???! :-))
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No shortscale 
I read about a method that uses alcohol AND an ultrasonic cleaner. I will investigate this, as I have the feeling that this also a recipe for a fusion bomb??!
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I get that and I applaud you for it. D’Addario has a string recycling program. Perhaps you could use that to recycle the old strings.
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The coating on Elixir strings supposedly helps keep dirt and grime out, which contributes to the breakdown of the string. You might also consider (assuming you don’t already) wiping down your strings each time you finish playing.
Elixir strings are coated with a proprietary, featherweight coating that protects the entire string, including the gaps between the windings. This coating prevents corrosion, dirt, oil, and sweat from damaging the strings.
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Sadly rounds are like consumables. You just have to keep replacing for that Zing! unless you are going for the vintage tone then never change it. Once they have enough gunk on them they sound even better than flats.
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